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Showing posts from July, 2018

D&D 5e: Ranger 5 / Rogue 3

A few months back, Ban and I were invited and we joined a 5e campaign. The GM was a player in Ban's 5e campaign that had already concluded. PCs started at level 5. Even during Ban's campaign, Ban helped me to brainstorm a range character that could deal lots of damage to single targets. So I started with ranger and aimed for Hunter archetype and the Colossus Slayer feature at level 3. However, a few things made me changed my mind: The feat Sharpshooter. Even if I don't use its first feature (-5 to attack, +10 to damage), the other 2 features sufficiently make this a good feat. However, taking this means forgoing the ability score increase (ASI) at level 4. This problem is addressed in the next point. GM allows the choice of Variant Human race. Since this race starts with a feat of your choice, I do not need to forgo ASI to take up Sharpshooter. However, one obvious disadvantage of this race is the lack of Darkvision. Our wizard (my darling Ban haha) refuses to spend

Atlas Reactor: Rampart

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Recently, I changed the build of my Rampart ( previous build here ): (read this wikia for details on abilities and mods) (1) Radamantium flurry: Battle Rush (1) This is still the best mod, in my opinion, because it helps Rampart to gain ultimate faster, which is his only dash and it can also help to protect his allies. (2) Bullwark: Bunker (2) Makes Rampart more durable and less pressure on his support. If enemies have at least 2 enemies whose primary attack can bypass Rampart's shield e.g. Gremolitions, Phaedra and Orion, then I will switch to Defensive Posture. The last time this happened was like...last year? Haha. (3) Fusion lance: Rocket Lance (2) This is the only change. I so rarely got mileage out of Radamantium Tipped Blade mod. On the other hand, sometimes I just lacked the range to hook an enemy. Hence this mod. This makes my Rampart's performance more consistent. I'm happier with this mod compared to the previous one. Yes, this means that I have one

Onward to FOLFOX

We arrived on a Monday for appointment with GH's oncologist, armed with prepared request . To summarise, (1) There's no oral version. (2) Can infuse chemo drugs via chemo port. (3) Need surgeon to insert chemo port. Will need more time to do that at GH and requires overnight stay. Estimated time to first infusion is 6 weeks. But if do it at private hospital (without having to stay overnight), estimated time shortened to 3 weeks. Incidentally, we discovered that there were many more patients at the hospital on Monday, a trend that was confirmed by a guard. We're going to try to avoid appointment on Monday! We decided to do the chemo port insertion at Lam Wah Ee Hospital. Met surgeon there: (1) Insertion of chemo port to be done the next day. (2) Oral chemo drugs generally are not as effective as direct infusion. (3) He was assured of the recommended chemotherapy regimen since both GH's oncologist and Dr D recommended it. (4) Assured us that Malaysia is up to

Skyhaus Coffee

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After many twists and turns, Ban and I finally managed to meet William over lunch at Skyhaus Coffee for some vegetarian food. I love the carbonara pasta but don't think it's worth the price because of its portion and that it's vegetarian. Their gelato and sorbet, however, are worth at least a try: (the patterns were crafted upon order)

Before GH

One thing I forgot to mention about our discussion with the Penang office rep of St Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou was that he did offer to pass information on my dad's case to the doctors at the hospital. So a few days later my dad called the office to obtain updates. In short, their preliminary suggestions are cryotherapy and immunotherapy. So when we met Dr D, we had lots of questions and obtained much information. In summary, (1) Cryotherapy is not suitable for dad because it merely removes tumours, not treating the cancer as a whole since my dad's cancer is of unknown primary source (highly suspect pancreas though). (2) There is immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer but it's still at experimental stage, with success rate of less than 20%. (3) Certain immunotherapies have become gold standard for treatment e.g. of lung cancer. Unfortunately, not for pancreatic cancer. (4) However, the hospitals in China have their own method of immunotherapy and so D

Autism: the positives

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Atlas Reactor: NEV:3

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NEV:3 is quite an unusual firepower freelancer. Like Gremolitions Inc., hitting one target does less damage than a typical firepower freelancer but hitting more than one deals significantly higher damage. She is good against enemies who love to bunch up together and/or line up in a straight line. Quite strong versus melee freelancers, if she can survive. This is my current build: (read this wikia for details on abilities and mods) (1) Catarang - Kitten Mittens (2 loadout points) This mod increases NEV:3's survival, especially since her catarang can hit all targets in its path. I don't like Inertia and Meowch because they are too conditional to get value out of them. Frisky is ok since energy mod is kind of neutral. (2) Embiggify - Fat Cat (2 loadout points) More shield! Collar mod is a favourite of many players but I prefer slow to root. Frisky is too conditional. (3) Mousetrap - (unequipped) No leftover loadout points. Previously when I used haste mod on the da

Kwong Wah

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I have found the best chendol in PJ and possibly in Malaysia: (Apologies for the photos' quality. The chendol looks better than what's depicted here). It's by Kwong Wah at Happy Mansion, Block C. It is also the most expensive (RM 5.50) but it's worth it. The ice is soft. Not too greasy from coconut milk. The gula Melaka (Malaysia's special palm sugar) is not overpowering. Chednol is the soft type but doesn't disntegrate at a mere touch. Chendol lovers, go try it. I'm certain you'll like it.

Char Kuay Teow @Ming Tien

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Ming Tien is the name of  popular food centre in PJ. It used to be located at Taman Megah. Ban and I had been there only a few times because finding carpark was difficult. It has since relocated to a covered one-and-half storey (first floor is noticeably smaller than second floor) building at Bandar Utama, with both outdoor and indoor carpark. On my second visit, I tried the so-called Penang Char Kuay Teow: The portion was huge, but priced at RM 7 / 7.50 (can't remember). Ingredients were ok. It was, however, oily and salty, making it a bad dish. The following week, an acquaintance tried it and thought it was ok. Hmmm I'm not sure I'll try it again though.

CEP

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One day, I walked into the master room and saw this: Me: *smiled and laughed* What are they doing? Ban: The Council of Eminent Persons are having a meeting. Me: What? Hahahaha. (inspired by Malaysia's Council of Eminent Persons)